A clear majority of children feel they spend too much time online, new research by CyberSafeKids has found. 

Over 7,100 children were surveyed and among those aged eight to 12, half said they spent too much time online. 

For those between 12 and 14, the figure rose to almost two-thirds, 65%. 

On The Hard Shoulder,  parenting coach and author Allen O'Donoghue said there are things a parent can do to help a child cut down on screen time. 

“What I think a lot of parents don’t realise is that there are options available to them to get support and manage that process,” he said. 

“Things like [the app] Screen Time, things like Family Link - we can set them up, so that the apps are shut down at a particular times. 

“There can only be X amount of time set aside so that they’re not having to be constantly going to our children and saying, ‘Oh, get off, it’s time to get off.’ 

“We can put monitoring software on our phones and I advise every parent to do it.” 

A child looks at a phone. Image: Westend61 GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo

Mr Allen said the technology is “not expensive” and a subscription can cost as little as €6 a month. 

“But that means you will get warnings or advisories if there’s any content that you should be concerned about,” he said. 

Mr Allen said teenagers will need less supervision than young children but it is still important to make sure they are aware of the risks of the internet and phone use. 

“It is about treating it in stages and viewing it as as important to talk to our kids about as talking about drugs or sex,” he said. 

CyberSafeKids are encouraging all families to take a ‘CyberBreak’ and not use their phones from 5pm today, 18th October to 5pm on Saturday, 19th October.

Main image: Children using their phone. Picture by: Gregory Wrona / Alamy Stock Photo.